So now that we know all about baking soda, what is baking powder? How are they different? Can they be interchanged?
From the baking soda post, we learned that baking soda needs an acid to activate it. And so maybe you can guess: baking powder is baking soda with an acid already combined with it, plus some starch to keep things free-flowing and make measuring easier.
Okay now then. Have you heard of “single acting” and “double acting” baking powder? The Damsel knows of people reading the words “double acting baking powder” on a recipe and deciding that they’d better add twice as much. This practice must come to an end. Listen carefully, now, sweet students. Most baking powder you can buy nowadays is already “double acting” and adding twice as much might make things taste off.
Single acting baking powder activates as soon as moisture hits it. So a person would need to hurry and get that baked whatever into the oven immediately after mixing it. Double acting activates with moisture, but has a second kicker that activates with heat. Thus you can dilly-dally a bit before baking. Not that the Damsel advocates dilly-dallying, but things happen.
So the next question is: can soda/powder be interchanged? You can actually make your own baking powder by adding acid to baking soda. You can accomplish this easily by adding cream of tartar. You’ll need 2 parts cream of tartar to 1 part baking soda. Measure the resulting mixture just as you would purchased baking powder.
If the recipe has an acid in it, such as lemon juice, buttermilk, vinegar, etc. you can skip the cream of tartar.
BUT. There’s no way to “make” baking soda. Just sayin’. If you have baking powder but no soda, you can use baking powder in its place…sorta. Baking soda is 3 to 4 times stronger than baking powder, so you’d need to use at least 3 times as much. It might make things taste a bit off, and the fact that you’ll also be adding the acid built into the baking powder may throw off the recipe as well.
The Damsel feels a bit dizzy.
To recap:
- baking powder is made of baking soda plus acid.
- baking powder can be made by mixing 2 parts cream of tartar plus 1 part baking soda.
- you can substitute baking soda for powder by mixing up #2, or by adding acid to the recipe such as buttermilk or vinegar.
- you can substitute baking powder for soda by using three times as much and hoping for the best.
The Damsel would also like to announce that she consistently wins the “Biggest Baddest Can of Baking Powder Contest.”
